It is rich and chewy in the mouth with ripe berry fruits overlaying a bed of earth.

Some seriously good, lightly toasted French oak plays just in the background and it finishes with suave, shapely tannins and good length.

Drink: 2010 to 2020.

2007 Mad Dog Shiraz

Always understated the 07 Mad Dog is indeed elegant and balanced yet with plenty of horsepower.

There’s a whiff of coal smoke, some elegant red berry fruits, a posy of dried flowers and a hint of spice. There’s a heart of blood plum and raspberry fruit and the suggestion of some Dutch chocolate adds complexity.

It isunderpinned by breezy, mineral acidity and the length of flavour is good.

2008 Mad Dog Shiraz

Deep dark and brooding, almost a little surly for a young Mad Dog Shiraz. There are some cassis, plum and blackberry fruits along with soot, dried flowers and iron to the aroma. There’s good intensity in the mouth with a nice textural creaminess and some graphite like tannins underpinning the whole package. It shows good balance and it drinks well now yet you suspect it may only begin to really unfurl after 3-5 years in the bottle.

Open knit, generous and ready to go. It has ripe raspberry and blueberry fruits coupled with some dark chocolate and spice notes. It is full and mellow with good volume and sweet tannins on the finish. It shows good balance and it drinks well now.

2008 Mad Dog Sangiovese

Seriously low yields have produced a Sangiovese that is both dense and textured.

The usual cherry fruits abound on the nose with an ethereal waft of florals and just a touch of spice.

In the mouth there’s a heart of liqueur cherry cut by some earth and after a big, voluminous punch of fruit flavour it dries off to leave one with a refreshing savoury sensation.

Drink: Now to 2015.

2009 Mad Dog Sangiovese

Expressive aromatics of sweet, jube like fruits, spice and liqueur cherry. Plush and textured in the mouth with plenty of ripe, sweet fruits nicely tempered by some more savoury elements. Quite complex and giving at this early stage with the propensity to age over the mid-term.

Drink: Now to 2015.

2010 Mad Dog Sangiovese

2010 Mad Dog Sangiovese: Black cherries and Satsuma plum notes on the nose along with some delightfully spicy French oak. It is generous and round in the mouth with ripe dark fruits that are cut by a little sour cherry vibrancy. It is dense and long and should age well over the mid-term.Seriously low yields have produced a Sangiovese that is both dense and textured.

Drink: Now to 2015.

2011 Mad Dog Savagnin

Mad Dog bought some supposed Albarino cuttings several years ago. Subsequent dna testing indicates that these vines are in fact Savignan, a variety used to make some of the classic wines from France's Jura region....ooops!! None the less the first up effort from Mad Dog with this mysterious dry white varietal has turned out well. It has some restrained exoticism with a hint of paw paw and rockmelon to the aroma. In the mouth it is flinty and lithe, and the leanness of the fruit due to young vine material actually works well in adding freshness and vitality to the wine's palate. It performs well quite chilled on a blisteringly hot day and will partner an array of shellfish amiably, particularly Goolwa cockles (well we certainly enjoyed the interplay between cockle and Savignan recently).